As per the recently released schedule by the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will participate in their final warm-up game against a qualifying team on October 3 in Thiruvananthapuram. This match will take place five days before India’s World Cup opener against Australia in Chennai. The ICC has chosen Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield Stadium as the host for four warm-up games, although the venue will not be involved in the main draw matches of the tournament.
Apart from India, teams such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and the qualifying teams will also be playing their warm-up matches in Thiruvananthapuram. These matches are scheduled to be played between September 29 and October 3. Guwahati and Hyderabad have been selected as the other two venues for World Cup practice matches.
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The warm-up matches in Thiruvananthapuram will kick off with a game between South Africa and Afghanistan on September 29. On September 30, Australia will face a qualifying team, followed by a match between South Africa and New Zealand on October 2. These four matches in Thiruvananthapuram will be broadcasted live, although it should be noted that the schedule is subject to change.
Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George expressed his excitement about hosting the warm-up games. He mentioned, “Fans will be able to witness the top six teams playing their warm-up games here as their favorite players will be in action. It would be difficult for us to manage as it would be like hosting a mini-tournament in only five days,” as quoted by TOI.
Notably, popular cricket venues such as PCA stadium in Mohali, SCA stadium in Rajkot, and VCA Jamtha in Nagpur have not been included in the ICC’s World Cup schedule.
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Jayesh further explained the decision, saying, “We should be grateful that we will be hosting four World Cup warm-up games. The ICC only decided to assign these warm-up games to a location that is not owned by a state cricket association due to Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, as the stadium has only been leased to KCA.”
Tentative Warm-up Schedule in Thiruvananthapuram:
- September 29: South Africa vs Afghanistan
- September 30: Australia vs Qualifying Team
- October 2: South Africa vs New Zealand
- October 3: India vs Qualifying Team (India’s Final Warm-up Game)
